Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCAgen_08May14CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS Regular Meeting of the City Council City Hall 2077 West Larpenteur Avenue AGENDA May 14, 2008 A. CALL TO ORDER: 7:00 PM B. ROLL CALL: LINDSTROM ____ HARRIS ____ KUETTEL ____ LONG ____ MERCER-TAYLOR ____ MILLER ____ KREUSER ____ C. PRESENTATIONS: D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: April 23, 2008 TAB 1 E. PUBLIC HEARINGS: F. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. General Disbursements through 5/8/08: $109,581.83 Payroll through 4/30/08: $15,533.16 TAB 2 2. 2008 Licenses TAB 3 3. Sanitary Sewer Cleaning Program TAB 4 4. Acceptance of election results for Fire Chief, Assistant Chief TAB 5 5. Formally adopt 2008 Debt and Capital Fund Expenditure Budgets TAB 6 G. POLICY AGENDA: H. INFORMATION/ANNOUNCEMENTS: I. COMMUNITY FORUM: If you have a disability and need accommodation in order to attend this meeting, please notify City Hall 48 hours in advance between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 651-792-7600. We will be happy to help. ??`???]??? Regular Meeting of the Falcon Heights City Council April 23, 2008 Members present: Mayor Lindstrom, Council members Harris, Long, and Mercer-Taylor, Administrator Miller, and Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk Kreuser. Absent: Council member Kuettel. Mayor Lindstrom called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The minutes of the April 9, 2008 council meeting were approved as submitted. Consent Agenda: Administrator Miller explained the sprinkler system had malfunctioned a couple times at the park due to some faulty pipe. The pipe was found to be beyond repair, and the new system included interior pipes and more durable material, a better system with lower risk of the pipes filling and freezing. Council member Harris asked about the huge discrepancy between the bids. All contractors bid on the same project, but the low bidder was very hungry for work, Miller said. He added that references were checked. Council member Long moved the following three items for approval. The motion passed unanimously. 1. General Disbursements through 4/17/08: $73,706.22 Payroll through 4/15/08: $15,840.2 2. 2008 Licenses 3. Community Park Fire Sprinkler Repairs Keith Gosline, 1969 Summer, addressed the council and explained his new business is personal fitness, massage therapy, and reflexology. Policy Agenda: 1. Resolution Approving Coventry Apartments Project Conduit Bonding Administrator Miller began the item by explaining Coventry Apartments approached the city for a bond not to exceed $12 million. He said cities issue bonds frequently, and at the Feb. 13 council meeting the bond was given preliminary approval. Tonight the council would approve the final resolution. Council member Harris reiterated it was up to $12 million. Miller stated that was pretty close to what they would issue, and the city would learn within the next couple of months of their sale(s). Harris added this money was not included in the 2008 budget, and is extra revenue the city was not expecting. Council member Mercer-Taylor moved to approve the resolution. The motion passed unanimously. 2. Approval of Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) Grant Application Administrator Miller said in 2005 the federal government allocated $21.5 million to make cities more livable. Minneapolis’ proposal was selected as one of four projects. Last year, the trail application for this grant was just missed, but with this application, the cities of Roseville and Falcon Heights are hopeful the trail will be funded. He explained the trail will go down Fairview from 36, hook up with Larpenteur, and then to Gortner which will connect the St. Paul and Minneapolis U campuses. The application proposes an 8-foot pathway on east side of Fairview along with boulevard improvements. Also, a sidewalk is proposed along Larpenteur on the north side in front of Gibbs Farm. The city will need to talk with Gibbs to get their approval. Along Gortner, sidewalk will be added on the west side, with separate bike and sidewalk lanes. The total estimated cost is $990,000. The deadline for application is Friday, and the city expects to hear back by July 1. Council member Mercer-Taylor said she was thrilled to see the application going forward, and was happy to hear Miller was confident the project would be funded. She asked for clarification on the shoulder and 8-foot wide pathway along Fairview. Miller responded the shoulder would be for bikes, and the pathway would be for pedestrians. Mercer-Taylor asked about engineering, but learned the plans haven’t been made yet. Council member Harris stated the project has to go across Hwy 36 and wondered aloud how that would work. Miller said over the meetings with TLC, information was gathered and the cities learned tips on how to get more points on the application. He added the Hwy 36 area was where engineers would have to get creative with bike lanes. Mayor Lindstrom said thankfully the city was in contact with TLC before making an application. Council member Long asked about the sidewalk/pathway material. Miller said the bike way would be bituminous, and along Larpenteur Avenue it would be concrete and maintained by the city. He added the idea was to connect the whole network, by adding a sidewalk in front of Gibbs and the driving range. Long said it would be great to get that piece added. Mayor Lindstrom said a survey was completed recently that asked people the importance of bike lanes, and 74% said bike paths and pedestrian paths were “extremely important” in home-buying decisions. Council member Harris moved to approve the Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) Grant Application. The motion passed unanimously. 3. Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program Administrator Miller said for the last several months the Environment Commission had been thinking about joining the Mayor’s Kyoto Agreement. One of the provisions of the agreement is for the city as a whole to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Miller said the Environment Commission came across the idea for the city to refund a portion of the permit fee for environmentally friendly appliances. Miller said some cities in California do this, and cities in Minnesota who have electric utilities do offer other incentives. Miller added that if homeowners install certain appliances that meet energy-saving standards they would be eligible for a rebate of ½ their permit fee. He stated the total liability to the city if every single permit and every single person applied for the rebate would be around $6,000. Mayor Lindstrom said the Kyoto Protocol (KP) came about in the early 90s and the US federal government did not sign the agreement. But cities wouldn’t settle, and Seattle began with a local government push for greener initiatives. He said over 1,000 cities have signed the KP, which commits participating cities to trying to reduce emissions to 7% below 1990 levels. Under the agreement, plans must be in place along with implementation strategies, and the Environment Commission has taken this on as a task. He said there are possibilities for Falcon Heights of purchasing wind power and installing compact fluorescent bulbs, or perhaps buying flex fuel public works vehicles in the future. Council member Harris asked about the restrictions on the program. Miller said there would be none. Harris asked if every window already meets the energy star standards. She said she thought it possible that every window and appliance might be, but Miller would look into it further. She said it was a great idea, wanted to know the full impact, but still agreed with implementing the program. Council member Mercer-Taylor asked if information on the KP might be included on the application form. Mayor Lindstrom said that was a good idea – with maybe a little packet of information to hand out to applicants. Council member Harris asked if the Environment Commission would be proposing to join the KP. Lindstrom stated he did want the council’s support and said he would be presenting to them in the next six months. Council member Long said it was a great innovative idea and appreciated that it would not impact the overall budget picture for this year. He moved to approve the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. The motion passed unanimously. 4. City Hall Summer Hours Administrator Miller stated in the summer there are often Friday afternoons when the phone doesn’t ring and it’s very quiet in City Hall. He said some cities and private sector organizations implement summer hours. It still allows city hall to be open the same number of hours during the week and employees would work the same number of hours, but allows greater flexibility for citizens and contractors. The proposal is for summer hours from Memorial Day through Labor Day. He stated the change would be publicized heavily, and in the case of an emergency, staff would be on-call. Council member Long asked if this would not create any conflicts with summer programs. Miller replied it would not. Council member Harris said it is a nice thing for staff as well, and might be a better thing for residents having earlier and later hours. Plus, it’s better for the environment. Council member Mercer-Taylor moved to approve summer hours. The motion passed unanimously. Information/Announcements: Council member Mercer-Taylor stated on May 14 from 10-12:30 there will be discussion on senior services in Ramsey County. Agencies representing Falcon Heights will be in attendance, and discussion will focus on how to help seniors remain independent in their homes. Anyone interested should contact the city and attend. At the State Fairgrounds on May 3-4 from 10 am-5 pm is the Living Green Expo for reducing your carbon footprint and rain garden info. It’s free. Finally, she announced that on May 9-11 at the Fairgrounds is the Friends School plant sale, with plants at very reasonable prices, native to Minnesota and hardy to cold. Council member Long said he attended the Parks Commission meeting and they discussed the 1,000 Bench program sponsored by Active Living Ramsey County. The commission is thinking of locations and ways for people and the city to get more involved. Lastly, he announced that summer rec registration is still open. Mayor Lindstrom said the community gardeners are ready and fired up for the gardening season. 19 of the 20 spots have been filled by FH residents, and the demand is great – over 35 inquiries had been made to-date. Administrator Miller said the reusable grocery bags are here, $2 each, limit two per household. CERT sign ups are still being taken through the end of the month. No workshop on May 7, and the Farmer’s Market opens on April 29. Mayor Lindstrom adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Stacey Kreuser Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk CONSENT F1 5/14/08 ITEM: General Disbursements and payroll SUBMITTED BY: Roland Olson, Finance Director REVIEWED BY: Justin Miller, City Administrator EXPLANATION: General Disbursements through 5/8/08: $109,581.83 Payroll through 4/30/08: $15,533.16 ATTACHMENTS: General disbursements and payroll roster CONSENT F2 5/14/08 ITEM: 2008 Licenses SUBMITTED BY: Stacey Kreuser, Assistant City Administrator/Deputy Clerk EXPLANATION: The following individual has applied for a home occupation license. Staff has received the necessary documents for licensure. • Melanie Leehy, M.A.R.C.H. Services The following business has applied for a tree trimming/removal license. Staff has received the necessary documents for licensure. • Pohl’s Tree Service The following business has applied for a mechanical contractor’s license. Staff has received the necessary documents for licensure. • C.O. Carlson Air Conditioning CONSENT F3 5/14/08 ITEM: Sanitary Sewer Cleaning Program SUBMITTED BY: Tim Pittman, Director of Public Works and Parks REVIEWED BY: Justin Miller, City Administrator EXPLANATION: The City of Falcon Heights started a sanitary sewer cleaning/televising program in 2007. This is a rotating program every 3 years. Half of the sanitary sewer system will be cleaned in 2008, the other half in 2009, followed by televising the complete system in 2010. This program will minimize if not eliminate sewer backups that can be costly to the City of Falcon Heights. This program is also recommended by our liability insurers, the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust. Quotes were received for the 2008 cleaning program by the following companies: Midwest Trenchless Technologies Inc. $15,205.26 Pipe Services Corp. $15,254.68 Infratech $25,960.20 Visu-Sewer Clean & Seal Inc. $34,489.98 ATTACHMENT: A map of the system to be cleaned in 2008. ACTION REQUESTED: Staff recommends council award the 2008 Sanitary Sewer Cleaning program for 2008 to Midwest Trenchless Technologies, Inc. in the amount of $15,205.26. CONSENT F4 5/14/08 ITEM: Acceptance of election results for Fire Chief, Assistant Chief SUBMITTED BY: Clem Kurhajetz, Fire Chief Explanation: At the May meeting, the Falcon Heights Fire Department conducted an election for Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief. Firefighters re-elected to three-year terms Clem Kurhajetz as Fire Chief and Mark Allen as Assistant Chief. ACTION REQUESTED: Acceptance of fire department election results. CONSENT F5 05/14/08 ITEM: Formally adopt 2008 Debt and Capital Fund Expenditure Budgets SUBMITTED BY: Roland O. Olson, Finance Director REVIEWED BY: Matt Mayer, CPA, Kern, DeWenter, Viere Ltd Justin Miller City Administrator EXPLANATION/DESCRIPTION: Summary and action requested: Every year the Council directs staff to prepare an annual budget for the City. The Council and staff hold multiple budget workshops throughout the year in preparation of the budget and it is completed prior to the annual truth in taxation hearing. At the first council meeting after the truth in taxation hearing the Council makes a formal resolution specifically adopting the proposed expenditures for the General Fund and all the special revenue funds. It has been suggested to more formally adopt the Debt Service Funds and the Capital Funds by also listing them individually. Doing so will also result in improved changes to the 2008 CAFR in that comparisons to budget can also be presented for all the Debt Service Funds and all the Capital Funds. Staff requests formal adoption of all the 2008 debt service and capital fund expenditure budgets. These budgets are currently listed in the 2008 annual budget book as previously approved. The 2008 expenditure budgets for these funds are as follows: Debt Service Funds: 1996 TIF Larpenteur Bond 207,285 1999 G.O. NE Quadrant Improvement Bond 183,972 Capital Funds: General Capital Improvements 13,075 Public Safety Capital Improvements 35,575 Parks/Recreation/Pu lic Facilities Capital Improvements 71,075 TIF Dist #1-2 Improvements 223,575 TIF Dist # 2-1 Improvements 43,645 TIF Dist # 1-3 Improvements 161,575 Infrastructure Improvements 347,975 ACTION REQUESTED: Formalize the adoption of the 2008 Debt Service Fund and Capital Fund expenditure budgets as previously reported in the 2008 annual budget for the City.